The Arrival #2

I read so many delicious-sounding dishes I’d love to try that I can’t decide.

What I do know is that this will be my go-to spot for meals over the next week.

Of course, according to Carson, there are no other restaurants in the entire town.

Another detail to remember when I speak with Mr. Odell.

The sooner I explain the limitations of this place, the sooner he’ll understand that he needs my father’s help.

When he sent Carson, the intention was simply to buy the company outright, but the night we dined together at his house, he gave me permission to explore other options.

Perhaps if I pitch them a partnership, they’ll think it over and accept sooner.

Some people are so reluctant to give up their business that they’d rather go bankrupt than sell it.

In those cases, becoming majority partners is easier for them to accept.

“You’re going to have a really hard time.

” Carson pulls me back to the conversation.

“Mr. Odell won’t listen to reason. One day he says one thing and the next he takes it back.

And his son is no better. He washes his hands of it, saying his father has the final say, and there’s no way to get through to the old man from that angle. Or any angle, for that matter.”

“Considering how good you are at getting through to people.” I laugh, which earns me a dirty look.

“Well, I’m not having any luck with you either,” he retorts.

I shouldn’t have said that.

“Let’s move on, come on. I still have a lot of questions and I’m tired from the trip. I want to go to bed early,” I warn him, and the look he gives me makes me narrow my eyes to let him know he’s not invited to my bed.

“You started it this time,” he defends himself.

I turn my gaze elsewhere, searching for the patience not to say something I’ll regret later, and my eyes land on a man sitting at the bar at the back of the restaurant.

He’s with a group of friends and they seem to be having a great time because they won’t stop talking and laughing, but I can’t help noticing he’s been watching me far too frequently for my comfort.

Especially because he’s extremely easy on the eyes and I’ve let my gaze wander toward him more than it should.

He’s tall, with a well-built and sinfully attractive body.

His hair, tousled in that same way Carson wears his, suits him infinitely better and practically begs you to run your hands through it.

His light eyes, with a piercing green gaze, quicken my breathing and set my imagination soaring.

When he raises his glass toward me and smiles, I force myself to look away. I didn’t come here to flirt, but to do my job. The only sights I want to enjoy are the ones the town has to offer, not one of its residents.

I focus on what Carson is telling me, but it’s not easy because the other man has gotten bolder.

And the worst part is that the more he watches me, the hotter I feel.

I don’t know what’s happening to me; I’ve never reacted this way to anyone’s gaze before.

I pick up my glass and gulp down all the water in one go, trying to calm my heart and cool my body.

It doesn’t work. And when Carson refills it, I drain it in a single gulp too.

Good thing it’s not wine or I’d have a serious problem right now.

“Are you all right, Debra? You seem… flustered.”

“I’m fine,” I lie. This time I don’t even bother reminding him not to use my first name because this is a work meeting. Before he gets the idea that the cause of my flush is him, I stand up. “Excuse me for a moment.”

I practically run to the bathroom and lean against the door the moment I’m inside.

I feel my heart pounding and inhale several times trying to slow it down.

It doesn’t work. I walk to the sink to splash cold water on my face.

I’m completely aroused because of the gaze of a man I don’t even know.

Unbelievable. I look at myself in the mirror.

My pupils are dilated and there’s color in my cheeks.

Then I run my tongue over my lips because they feel dry.

It’s the first time in my life that someone has managed to put me in this state without coming near me, without saying a single word, simply by looking at me.

Of course, his eyes were screaming at me that he wanted to devour me whole. And I believed it. Oh, did I ever.

“Need some help?”

I stifle a moan when he pins me against the sink and his hand goes straight to my right breast. I can’t believe he followed me in here.

Though now I can confirm I’m not the only one affected by our little game of glances.

His hard erection throbs against my ass and my heart kicks into overdrive once again.

“Let go of me,” I demand without much conviction because, in truth, I don’t want him to. “Someone could walk in.”

“I’ve already taken care of that,” he says, crouching behind me. “Just try not to be too loud. The walls are very thin.”

His hands travel up my bare legs with deliberate slowness that drives me crazy.

When they reach my skirt, they drag it upward and, although it’s far too tight, he manages to roll it around my waist. I stifle a scream when I feel his teeth on one of my buttocks.

And I nearly let out another when his fingers work their magic beneath my thong.

“Let’s put out this fire,” he whispers, but what he’s doing is precisely the opposite. I’m getting more and more aroused.

I grip the sink with both hands for fear of falling. At any moment I know my legs will give out because my thong has vanished and his mouth now occupies the place where his fingers were. His tongue enters me with such skill that I can’t hold back a moan of pleasure.

“Shhh.”

His breath sends shivers all over my body and I bite my lip to keep quiet. Staying silent is killing me and he knows it and uses it to his advantage.

He attacks my sex again without mercy, licking, sucking, thrusting his tongue inside me, until an intense orgasm takes hold of me and leaves me trembling.

My knuckles are white from gripping the edge of the sink, but I don’t have time to loosen my hold because I hear him tearing open a wrapper and seconds later he’s inside me.

He gives me no respite this time either.

He enters hard, fast, and deep. He holds my hips with both hands to set the rhythm and all I can do is try to keep the sink from digging into my stomach with his movements.

Never in my life have I been fucked with such intensity.

Not in a public bathroom. Not with a complete stranger.

But all of that ceases to matter while I feel his thrusts, while I sense how he fills me completely with every push, and how a new orgasm threatens to turn my legs into a soft mass incapable of holding me up.

If he weren’t holding me firmly, I would have ended up on the floor.

“Come on,” he urges. “Come with me to heaven, baby.”

And I do. I come again, but this time he joins me. And, though I didn’t think it was possible, it feels even more intense than the first time. He covers my mouth with his hand when I cry out—I couldn’t help it.

I try to steady my breathing, still clinging to the sink, while I feel him straightening my skirt back into place. I’ve given up the thong for lost. I hear the toilet flushing and feel his breath on my ear when he speaks.

“Welcome to town.”

Having said that, he leaves, leaving me trembling and disheveled, but satisfied. And I don’t know what’s worse—having allowed it or having enjoyed it so much.

“Damn it,” I tell my reflection as I stare into the mirror.

This shouldn’t have happened. This town is very small and I’m worried that my indiscretion will end up on everyone’s lips. It would be a disaster and it would hurt me when it comes to doing my job.

I fix my hair as best I can and, when I’m done, I congratulate myself because you can hardly tell the mess it was before. I readjust my skirt and pray that no one can tell I’m not wearing anything underneath. Lastly, I smooth out my blouse and step out of the bathroom.

Debra Hardwick, the lawyer, has taken control once more.